Read Online Shot to Hell (Four Horsemen MC #7) by Cynthia Rayne - Free Book Online Page B

plates, she determined eating here was definitely a bad idea. It was all gravy, biscuits, and pork products. Not a vegetable or fruit in sight, unless she counted orange juice, which she didn’t because it was loaded with sugar.
    Although, she had to admit the food smelled delicious. It smelled like home, actually. Her dad used to make biscuits and sausage gravy on weekends.
    “You were lookin’ good out there.”
    Ash glanced up to see a handsome man swaggering toward her. He had cropped black hair and skin the color of caramel. She couldn’t place his heritage, exactly, but it seemed to be a mixture. While she couldn’t suss out the mix, he sure was a handsome devil. With a ripped body and jeans which outlined his muscled thighs in exquisite detail, she definitely noticed him. And so did the other women in the diner, who watched him walk with rapt attention. He wore a Four Horsemen leather vest over a long-sleeved black T-shirt.  
    Another biker. Figures.
    “I’m Ace.” He extended a hand. “And who might you be, darlin’?” He grinned, showing gleaming white teeth. He had a perfect aww shucks sort of down-home smile she found herself returning.  
    “I’m Ashton Calhoun.” She gave his hand a good squeeze. “Call me Ash.”
    His eyes widened.
    Ash raised a brow. Perfecting her handshake had taken years. Working in a male-dominated profession demanded manly communication skills, and men respected a good, firm handshake because it communicated competence. She meant it to be business-like and perfunctory, but he clasped her fingers in his for a couple of extra beats, enough to convey sexual interest in her.
    Uh, oh. Lord have mercy, he was going to try to pick her up. Being a woman in the military, she’d heard all sorts of come-ons. Ash had been quite the hot commodity in Afghanistan, and she’d helped herself to handsome Marines every now and then. None of those encounters had been serious. Actually, they’d all been fun as hell.
    Ash had only been serious about one man.
    “Mind if I sit a spell? Join you for breakfast?” He made a sweeping gesture at the opposite side of the booth.
    She wanted to refuse. The less she interacted with the bikers, the better. Getting in deeper with a criminal element wouldn’t be great for her career or her temper. However, a lifetime of southern manners dictated she invite him to eat with her. Damn it, why couldn’t she have been born up north? Being rude was a lot more socially acceptable north of the Mason-Dixon line.
    “Be my guest.”
    Ash vowed to load up on supplies–vegetables, fruit, juice, along with some healthy snacks like nuts and rice cakes, and some drinks. She shouldn’t socialize with the bikers if she could help it.
    “What brings you to Hell?” He slipped into the booth.
    Evidently, word that she’d be working with the Horsemen hadn’t spread, so she decided to have some fun. “Business.”
    He leaned closer. “What kind of business?”
    Another handsome man hurried over to the table. He was young, mid- or early twenties with blue eyes and blond, spiky hair. “Hi, I’m Angel, and I’ll be your server today. Would you like coffee?”
    “Oh, yes, please.” She allowed herself exactly one cup a day, although if she had her way, she’d drink an entire pot. Especially today.
    “You’re late getting over here, prospect. We’ve been here forever.”
    “Sorry, Ace.”
    Prospect meant a new member. She’d done her Biker 101 homework when she’d taken this case. In the Marines, they called them grunts, and higher-ups made their lives a living hell until they got into the groove of things. Ash smirked. She missed those days.
    “Got any menus, Angel?”
    Ace answered the question. “Voo doesn’t let you order. Instead, he brings you something he knows you’ll enjoy.”
    “No can do.  I eat healthy food.”
    “Oh, he makes healthy food.”
    She raised a disbelieving brow.
    “I’ve seen Captain eat turkey sausage and egg whites here.”